The lights were on, the fans were loud and the moment was one neither team will ever forget.

“When we first pulled up to the stadium, it still actually hadn’t hit me. It’s something you dream about as a kid, just to play in a professional stadium. When they introduced us to the locker rooms, I felt like a real pro,” Kingsway forward Zach Garcia said. “Walking out to that field from the tunnel for the first time before everyone was there, seeing the stands and the grass and the field, it was something where words cannot describe the emotions I felt that day that I think the team felt as a whole.”

The contest came about thanks to the Dragons’ close relationship with the Union, which began in the team’s inaugural season in 2008. Kingsway coach John Green said the Union were looking to partner with local high school teams.

Over the years, the Dragons have attended practices, met players and even got to practice at the Union’s facilities. Last year, Senior Account Executive in Group Sales Tim Seidler brought up the idea of Kingsway playing a game at the stadium.

Green contacted Clearview coach Dodd Terry about bringing one of South Jersey’s most competitive rivalries to Pennsylvania. All the two programs had to do was sell tickets to the Union’s game against the Chicago Fire on Sept. 23.

“It was just a first-class event and I’m really thankful to the Philadelphia Union for hosting us and for their amazing generosity and community outreach,” Terry said. “It was something we’ll long remember.”

As for the game itself, it lived up to its big-time setting. Kingsway’s band set up shop in the Union supporters section at the southeast end of the stadium while student sections lined seats along the sidelines.

The Dragons grabbed the 1-0 victory thanks to Garcia’s tally, his fourth of the season, off an assist from Preston Baughman at the 11-minute mark. The senior reacted like any player would in that situation.

“The goal itself was honestly one of the best moments of my life. … When the ball went in the back of the net, I really didn’t know what to do. My first thought was to actually run to the bench and celebrate with the team because I didn’t want to just celebrate with everyone on the field, I wanted the whole team to be involved in the celebration,” he said. “Having the fans go crazy, it gave me goosebumps.”

While the win was important in the grand scheme of the season, the truly important part of the night was the moments each player will get to take with them.

“The experience was one for the books,” Clearview’s Andrew Jarrett said. “It was really eye-opening to see how professionals prepare for games, how they play and where they play.”

SURPRISING RESULT

Lenape might be 4-6 this season, but don’t let the sub-par record fool you — the Indians can still make noise in South Jersey soccer.

It happened on Sept. 14 when the Indians carried a game into double overtime against No. 4 Shawnee before falling 2-1. Last Monday, Lenape took No. 5 Washington Township to overtime, only this time the Indians scored the 3-2 victory.

They had to fight back from being down a goal twice. The game-tying tally came with about eight minutes left in regulation and showed Lenape’s never give up determination to score the upset.

“The fight in our team was just outstanding, and we came back twice. We kept putting the pressure on them. Right after we tied it up, their faces kind of went down and they were like, ‘Man, this is going to be a game.’ They weren’t taking us seriously,” game-winning goal scorer Billy Bruno said. “The last 10 minutes of regulation and overtime, we just had the pressure on constantly.”

As the deciding tally reached the back of the net, the underdog’s celebration reflected the emotion of the moment.

“I kind of just went crazy. I just started screaming, everyone started mobbing me and we did know we just upset Washington Township. We knew that right away. I don’t think that they were really taking us seriously coming into the game, and they were shocked,” Bruno said. “We had a rough week the week before and we were just kind of overjoyed and proud of ourselves that we came from behind and were able to have such a great win.”

Lenape has been involved in two more close affairs against ranked opponents since the season-defining win over the Minutemen.

On Thursday, the Indians forced overtime against No. 6 Eastern before losing 2-1. Washington Township evened the season series with a 2-0 win on Monday, but Lenape kept the game scoreless until the second half.

The highly competitive bouts against top competition should keep teams on high alert as the season winds down.

“A win against a top-level team is going to be huge for our program obviously,” coach Eric Krastek said. “We’re right there with some of the best teams around and it’s proven to us, and we hope to everyone else, that we can compete at that level.”